Longhorns Kick-Off Second Half of SEC Schedule With Must-Win vs. South Carolina

The Texas Longhorns are one of the most inconsistent teams in college basketball this season.

Texas has four ranked wins but is 13-9 overall and sits at 10th in the SEC.

If first-year head coach Sean Miller wants to make it to the tournament, he will need to start with a win tonight at home against South Carolina.

The Texas Longhorns Set to Face-Off Against South Carolina at Home

Texas Longhorns guard Dailyn Swain goes up for a layup against the Auburn Tigers. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It has been up-and-down for the Longhorns all season.

They are coming off a four-game stretch in which they beat the No. 22 Georgia Bulldogs and the rival Oklahoma Sooners, but also lost to the unranked Auburn Tigers and Kentucky Wildcats.

Transfer guard Dailyn Swain was a bright spot through the inconsistency, as he has been all season. He leads the Longhorns in minutes, points, assists, rebounds and steals this season.

Swain has been extra spectacular recently, averaging 25.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.5 steals in 37.1 minutes over the last four games.

Unfortunately for Miller and the Longhorns, Swain's meteoric rise has coincided with somewhat of a step back from fellow guard Tramon Mark. Mark put up a combined eight points in his last two contests while shooting 4/19 from the field and 0/9 from three.

Texas and Mark have a chance to turn things back in the right direction tonight against the Gamecocks, who are 2-7 in conference play and the No. 88 team according to KenPom.

South Carolina, like Texas, is led in most statistical categories by one player: guard Meechie Johnson. However, unlike Texas, South Carolina has a second player who is either ahead of or just behind Johnson in every column, fellow guard Mike Sharavjamts.

It behooves the Longhorns to find a way to slow down South Carolina's dynamic backcourt. If they do that, Texas should be able to ride Swain to a victory and hopefully get Mark back on track.

Mark was instrumental in Texas' biggest wins of the season, putting up a combined 39 points against the Alabama Crimson Tide and Vanderbilt Commodores in back-to-back games earlier this year. Getting him back to the top of his game is imperative for Miller

A win against the Gamecocks could snowball for the Longhorns, who face only one ranked opponent for the rest of the season.

If Miller and his team can capture victory in Austin tonight, it could be the first step to a big run ahead of the SEC tournament.